Couple spends month in jail after cop mistakes soap for cocaine

A New York couple spent nearly a month in jail after a Pennsylvania state trooper mistakenly identified two bricks of homemade soap as cocaine and arrested them for transporting the drug.

On December 12, law enforcement authorities officially dropped
the charges against the couple – 26-year-old Annadel Cruz and
30-year-old Alexander Bernstein – who were pulled over in
Pennsylvania as they were driving from New York to Florida.

According to a criminal complaint obtained by the Morning Call
newspaper, Cruz was driving five miles over the speed limit on
November 13 when a state trooper pulled her over. The officer
apparently questioned her about the car, a new Mercedes-Benz,
which Cruz said was a rental.

The trooper said he smelled marijuana, to which Cruz replied that
she had smoked earlier that day, just not in the car. She gave
the trooper permission to search the car, and the ensuing search
turned up two brick-size packages that were encased in plastic
wrap and red tape.

Although Cruz said the bricks were soap that she made herself, a
field test performed by the officer identified the substance as
cocaine. The officer also found marijuana in Cruz’s bra.

The couple was arrested and charged with intent to deliver
cocaine, possession of cocaine, and conspiracy and possession of
drug paraphernalia. Additional charges of possession of
marijuana, disregarding traffic lanes, and speeding were applied
to Cruz. Bernstein was jailed on a $500,000 bond, while Cruz was
under a $250,000 bail.

While the couple spent the month in jail, tests by the state
police lab confirmed that the bricks were composed of soap. The
Lehigh County district attorney’s office eventually dropped the
charges, but attorneys for the couple told the Morning Call that
they suffered from racial profiling.

"I think it is a nice car with out-of-state plates and a
Hispanic female behind the wheel" that triggered the
officer’s interest, said attorney Josh Karoly, who represents
Bernstein. "If it was me driving that car, this wouldn't have
happened."

"After this, everyone should pause about jumping to
conclusions when a field test is said to be positive by law
enforcement,” said Cruz's attorney, Robert Goldman.
“There are people going to jail on high bail amounts based
upon these field tests."

The field test also came under fire from Karoly, who questioned
whether it was performed properly or if it ever actually
occurred.

"A young man spent a month in jail, spent a substantial
amount of money to get out of jail and missed Thanksgiving with
his 17-month-old son," he said. "To do that on a field
test, we better be darn sure that these field tests are
accurate."

Police have yet to comment on the incident, though Goldman said
Cruz had no criminal record before she was pulled over.

"Her name is all over the place, making light of her defense
that she was just transporting soap," he said. "She was
labeled online as a drug dealer, she was incarcerated with people
who do commit crimes. It's going to take her a good deal of time
to get her good name back.”